Appy New Year

A great way to start the year would be cleaning all of the old junk off of your smartphone. But then you'll need to reload it with new apps. What apps should you get? Start with the PlaNetizen list of Best Planning Apps from 2017.

CyberGIS '14

This week a group of researchers has gathered at CyberGIS '14 to look at how better, more interconnected computers are transforming GIS. While supercomputers and big data seem like something that only interests a handful of researchers, but what can be done today on Blue Waters or Keeneland will be done on a desktop or phone sometime in the not-so-distant future.

If you can't drop by, you can follow along. Several users, particularly Esri's Dawn Wright, are tweeting throughout the meeting at #CyberGIS14. And there may be some live streaming video at some point.

#CyberGIS14 streaming live at http://t.co/OOLGz1wtyj with passwd watch.uc14

— CyberGIS Center (@CyberGISCenter) August 19, 2014

Automated advising

I have considered the faculty-led, individual advising in our program here to be one of its greatest strengths. Between complex, dynamic schedules, and difficult life decisions, there is a lot of ground to cover. So it is with disappointment, but not surprise, that I read about the new online advising algorithms. Another sure way to keep students from asking faculty questions, hearing answers they don't want to hear, and prevent them from developing relationships that would be useful in an advising/life emergency.

Computers get bigger and dataier

Rutgers pushes into supercomputing and the Obama administration is putting $200 million into 'big data'.

Happy birthday PC!

Celebrate the 30th birthday of the PC with Wired, TIME, and ZDNET.

But PC Magazine asks if it is already dying.Can't we just enjoy this moment and worry about that on Monday?

New CIO for US Government

Vivek Kundra has been great in jumpstarting the movement of federal government's antiquated IT efforts in to the 21st Century, but he is leaving for a fellowship at Harvard.  His parting quote is telling: "Focus coupled with ruthless execution delivers results - that's the most powerful lesson I've learned."   His replacement is Steven VanRoekel, Bill Gates former assistant and most recently the managing director of the FCC.  This could impact everything from Net Neutrality to open government to integration of geospatial into IT at all agencies.  Even though Congress gutted the Electronic Government Fund by more than 75% last year the Post quotes VanRoekel explaining why we have to move ahead with this, “The productivity gap between where the private sector has gone over the last two decades and where government has gone is ever-widening.”

Digital Praxis Evolution in the Landscape Studio

Department of Landscape Architecture | Spring 2010 Lecture Series
Wednesday, April 7, 3:55 in Cook Douglass Lecture Hall, Room 110

Scott Carman; Landscape Architect, Principal c2/ studio Landscape Architect; Lecturer, RISD
Digital Praxis Evolution in the Landscape Studio

Historically tentative to incorporate new technology into practice, many landscape architecture firms still struggle with defining the role of computer technology and digital media in their work.  Frequently, it has come only as a reactionary and necessary response to the changing demands of interdisciplinary collaborations.  The resulting pervasive compartmentalization of specific functions as 'digital' impedes the greater integrative potential that the technology offers.  Citing examples from his experiences in academia and private practice, Scott Carman traces shifting patterns of engagement with technology and discusses the fertile transformational possibilities that are now emerging.

Microsoft's spatial computing

Microsoft is now describing a large cluster of their future technologies as being "spatial computing". This isn't about virtual Earth maps, but about the complex new approach they envision for virtual worlds, 3d interfaces, and cloud computing. The vision is pretty interesting, but so is the term.

Land8Lounge

I am a bit of a gadget head, so when new things pop up on the web I like to check them out. But I have been slow to catch up on the various social networks online. But this seemed like a great chance to jump in: Land8Lounge.

Land8Lounge is a social network site for landscape architects. In a very short few months it has grown to over 1100 members. It includes students, faculty and practitioners from around the world. Topos called it the "premier social network for landscape architects on the web." The web site facilitates the sharing of portfolios, formation of groups (like the LSU alumni group) and hosting of personal spaces. But it is also home to a forum area for conversations about things like graphics (which quickly included people posting their own work), LA tourism, and technical details about things like soil amendments and the LEED exam.

How not to get info from the web

At the VGI meeting in Santa Barbara in December, we were trying to talk through the ways that we assess whether or not information (particularly but not exclusively spatial information) is reliable enough for decision making. Examples included how differently you might consider a restaurant recommendation from a friend than one anonymously posted on a website.

Fast forward to this weekend. While listening to NPR's On The Media, I heard Mark Phillips talk about Quantum Leap (and the Ziggy) and how it resembled the way we can use Blackberry's and iPhones to ask questions online. Focusing on ChaCha, he described new ways of getting information that you know to be unreliable (but you do not necessarily know to be wrong). His closing comment really hit home:

Let's hope people still ask strangers for directions, friends for recommendations, and experts for opinions. Otherwise we'll all look like Al from Quantum Leap.

DRAFT LA Department Computer Recommendation

While we remain committed to maintaining the highest quality computer lab for teaching new technologies and their integration into design, the LA Department is increasingly finding students using their own machines as a way of avoiding the waits, working at the drafting table instead of the lab, and pushing the envelope with customizations and Open Source exploration. Students keep asking, "What should I buy?" So here is a stab at the answer, posted here hoping for additional comments and prodding.


As of today, 1/15/07, this is still a DRAFT document and only a recommendation or set of guidelines.

This is NOT a requirement but a strongly encouraged set of guidelines for laptops that will be most helpful in the design studio setting. Every feature (memory, speed, etc.) that you cut back on will probably shorten the time that the machine is useful. On the other hand, a slightly slower or older machine can still be more useful than waiting for the shared machines in the lab.

Ideally, this would be a great machine right now. If you find a deal you might adjust it some, but just be aware of the tradeoffs.

Hardware:

CPU Processor: Intel-compatible (Pentium, AMD): 2 GHz or higher

RAM: 3-4 GB (one of the most important issues for LA students)

Hard Drive: 100 GB or more strongly encouraged (160GB @7200 rpm)

Monitor: 14" or larger - Display that supports 32-bit color at 1280x1024 pixels

Video Adapter: 256 MB VRAM or more

High resolution graphics adapter w/ 256 MB video RAM , support for Open GL 1.5 or higher recommended

OS: Windows XP Professional

Sound Card: 100% Windows compliant sound card

CD/DVD: CD-RW/DVD-ROM or CD-RW/DVD-R

Wireless Card: IEEE 802.11b/g/n compatible (Blake Hall will primarily be an N-band wireless zone)

USB flash drive, (for file transfers), at least 1GB recommended

Ethernet Adapter: Built-in or Xircom, 3Com Megahertz or Netgear brand (RJ-45)

Warranty Service: minimum 3-year onsite parts and labor

Recommedned Software:

Microsoft Office 2007
Autocad 2006/2007 Student

Adobe Creative Suite 3 (The Creative Suites come in several different bundles. Rutgers has a negotiated rate for one under $400 that is a good set for students.)

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Due to the graphic-intensive nature of the landscape architecture coursework and the competitive cost of computers, it is advisable for students to purchase a laptop with the fastest processor, the most RAM, and the largest hard drive you can afford. In general, the best balance between performance and price is found in a computer with a processor that is one step below the fastest available processor.

Before you purchase your personal computer for school, you may want to look over the general advice that Rutgers offers for students considering a laptop purchase: http://www.nbcs.rutgers.edu/newcomputers.php

(A special thanks to other programs like Mississippi State, Cornell, NC State, which have already posted their requirements or recommendations online. These were helpful in starting our recommendations and may help you find other useful links.)

David Pogue reviews the $100 laptop for their temporary Give One, Get One offer which has been designed for the One Laptop Per Child program. I gather that it has its critics, but I remain excited about the potential.

Free software

This weekend Google started helping users get a free copy of StarOffice as part of a GooglePack download. According to Bits at the Times, this move combines Sun and Google in an alliance that should make Microsoft a little nervous.